Steps Between Us
by Skitty13
Summary: I stood in front of him, directly across the street. Although we were staring at each other like there was no one else, I was very aware of everything that happened between us. Cars, bikes, people... Everything kept moving. It was then the lights changed and he ran over to me. "Thirteen steps," he said, looking straight into my eyes. Leafgreenshipping.


Steps Between Us

Leafgreenshipping

Happy 2016! I know it's a bit late, but I recently finished this story and thought it would work under the new years theme.

Anyways, I hope you guys are all enjoying the new year!

Enjoy~! :)

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon

* * *

Leaf's POV

 _(December 28th, late afternoon)_

"That's not what I meant!"

"Then what did you mean? I waited for you for an hour, but you never showed up!"

"I forgot, okay? Besides you forget things, too."

"Oh, so now you're blaming me?!"

"I didn't say that!"

"You're implying it!" I groaned, frustrated. We weren't getting anywhere with this conversation, I'm sure we both knew this by now. I turned away from him, brushing past him to grab my jacket. "This is pointless. We're wasting our time, it's not even worth it anymore. I'm leaving."

Not waiting for any response, I snatched my jacket from the coat rack and slipped out the door. Swinging it shut on my way out, I didn't hear it close, knowing he had caught the door and the footsteps following mine were his as well. Ignoring it all, I pulled on my jacket and shoved my hands in the pockets. Looking back at him was a bad idea, so I didn't look back. If I did, I would only see the argument we just had replay itself.

Not worth it.

"Leaf!"

Gary's voice echoed around the neighbourhood. Someone might have noticed our little scene, but I didn't care anymore. I needed to get away. Kalos was a big region, and I'm sure I could avoid Gary if I tried hard enough. Heading towards the direction of Lumiose City, I pulled out my phone and checked the location of the nearest Pokémon Center.

Gary and I weren't always like this. Arguing about every single detail, pointing out who was wrong. Sure, we had our fights but they never use to escalate to this level of blame so quickly. Perhaps things weren't working out anymore. The winter scenery reminded me of how close we were to the end of the year. It was freezing out, even in the afternoon. Heading to Route 4 that connected Santalune City to Lumiose City, I thought, _maybe things will be better off this way._

Like everyone else who was in a relationship, we started off as strangers. Completely unaware of each other until that day...

 _Looking around the shelves full of Pokémon research, I skimmed through the titles, pulling out and flipping through the ones that caught my interest. Walking into the teen section, I picked up the mystery novel, deciding to give the book a chance. As I walked towards the front of the store, someone ran into me. Falling back, I rubbed my back._

 _"Ouch, watch where you're walking," I exclaimed._

 _The guy looked startled, offering his hand out to me._

 _"Sorry," he said, pulling me up to my feet. Picking up my book as well, he held it out to me. "I don't usually go around walking into pretty girls."_

 _"Nice to know," I murmured. Spikey brown hair and dark eyes along with a flirtatious personality, it was obvious that this guy was charming to most girls. Luckily it wouldn't work on me. Giving him a slight nod before walking off, I was only a few paces away when he called out to me._

 _"Wait!"_

 _I turned around to look at him. "Yes?"_

 _"Do you know where to find the Pokémon research books? I can't seem to find them," he admitted sheepishly._

 _"Yeah, I'll show you," I offered, leading him deeper into the bookstore._

 _"Thanks!" He flashed a grin at me, flipping through the book about grass types. "I'm Gary Oak. Nice to meet you."_

 _"Leaf Green," I answered, giving him a small smile._

 _..._

Not long after we had known each other, we started to get to know each other. More like Gary kept pestering me until I agreed to hang out with him, but despite his personality, I learned to understand him and who he was. Overall, he wasn't that bad.

 _..._

 _"You feeling okay?" Gary asked, appearing next to me. "You look like you have a lot on your mind."_

 _I shrugged, looking up at the full moon. After a moment, I sighed and broke the silence._

 _"I guess I do have a lot on my mind," I answered truthfully. "School, stress, it's just all starting to get to me."_

 _"I completely understand," he said, leaning up against the railing. Listening to the sounds of the waves washing against the sand down below, he looked over at me. "Sometimes, working with Gramps and school causes me a lot of stress too. You know, there's only so much work a sixteen year old boy can handle."_

 _Laughing lightly at his words, I looked down at the ground._

 _"Remember to breathe," Gary said, gently bumping my shoulder. "I'm here if you need a shoulder to lean on." He paused, giving me a smile. "If you have to, you can always scream at the ocean. I won't judge."_

 _"Thanks, but I'm good," I said, looking into his eyes. "Thanks for being here."_

...

Around then, I soon started learning about the nice personality that Gary hid behind his cocky façade. It wasn't too long until I started falling for him. I guess it was inevitable, seeing he was willing to take his time and spend it with me.

 _..._

 _"Still reading?"_

 _I didn't bother glancing up, knowing who it was. "Aren't you suppose to be reading?"_

 _"Gramps let me out for a break," Gary replied, plopping down in the grass next to me. He leaned over, probably trying to see what I was reading. "Are you reading a new book already?"_

 _"Yep." I nodded, flipping the page. "I'll be done the series within the week at this rate."_

 _Noticing his shadow falling over the words I were reading, I looked up just in time to see Gary with a mischievous grin as he snatched my book._

 _"Hey! You're going to lose the page I was on!" I yelped, chasing him around. "Gary Oak!"_

 _"You're spending too much time reading!" he retorted, holding the book over his head. "You should spend it with me instead."_

 _Jabbing his side and effectively getting him to drop the book, I scooped it up then began my search for the page I was reading._

 _"After I finish this book," I said, returning to my book. "I'll be done soon."_

 _Sitting down next to me again, Gary leaned over again. "What's the book about anyways?"_

 _My eyes sparkled, as I started my explanation of the entire series. Although it took a while to explain everything, Gary managed to endure my lengthy story backstory. Not everyone was able to listen to me talk about books this passionately. It might have been because of this moment, but I knew I was falling for Gary._

 _..._

It had probably been a week or two after that day that Gary had asked me out. It wasn't as dramatic as the ones in books that I've read, but to me, it was sweet and very memorable.

 _..._

 _I stepped out of the school doors, feeling the fresh air and sunlight on my skin._ _After a couple hours of being stuck inside a classroom doing exams, I was more than ready to get outside._

" _We're finally free!" I exclaimed, reaching up for the sky as a stretch. "I'm so glad we don't have anymore exams until next year!"_

 _Gary chuckled from behind me, causing me to turn around. "Someone looks relieved."_

 _"Aren't you?" I countered, crossing my arms._

 _"Yeah, I am." Gary nodded in agreement, shoving his hands into his pocket. "What did you think about the history one?"_

 _"It was okay," I replied, making a face. "What about you?"_

 _Looking over at him, I saw him frozen on the spot._

 _"Hello? Gary? Did the exam kill off your brain cells?"_

 _Waving my hand in front of his face, I poked at the brown haired teen. Suddenly grabbing my arm, he yanked us out of sight behind a tree._

 _"What are you doing?" I hissed, feeling him peer around nervously._

 _"Sh...!" he answered._

 _Peering around the tree, I could spot Gary's admirers appearing where we were earlier, probably looking for Gary. Glancing back at their person of interest, I tilted my head questioningly. After the group had left, Gary sighed in relief and looked down at me._

 _"Sorry, I didn't want to run into them today," he confessed. Looking more closely at him, I could finally see Gary looked exhausted as well._

 _"It's fine," I said, stepping back out of the shadows of the tree. Pausing to think for a moment, I smiled. "I know what will improve your day!" I grabbed his hand. "Come on!"_

 _A few minutes later, we sat across from each other in a shop with ice cream cones in our hands._

 _"So?" I asked as Gary ate some of his ice cream._

 _He grinned, nodding. "You're right. This is improving my day."_

 _"I knew ice cream w_ —"

" _No, not the ice cream," Gary denied. "You did. Thanks."_

 _Blushing slightly, I looked down and continued to eat my ice cream. Feeling something near my face, I felt Gary gently brush my cheek._

 _"You had some ice cream there," he explained. Before I could say anything, he asked, "I like being with you, can we do this more often?"_

 _"Are you asking me out?" I asked, looking up at him._

 _"Yeah, I am." Gary reached over and held my hand. "Are you okay with it?"_

 _"Of course."_

...

From there we started dating, and like most couples we had our ups and downs. Only recently, it seemed as if there were downs than there were ups. We argued more, even about the smallest things. It just didn't seem worth it anymore.

Staring at the approaching gateway that would lead me to Santalune City, I knew that one whatever happened next, I wouldn't be with Gary. My eyes watered a bit, but I refused to cry.

Perhaps leaving him was better than being with him.

...

 _"The movie was nothing like the book," I complained, walking out of the movie theater with Gary. "I liked the book better."_

 _"You're cute," he responded, kissing my nose. "I heard there's going to be another movie made about the next book."_

 _"Oh! Can we watch it?"_

 _"I thought you didn't like this movie..."_

 _"Still!"_

 _"I love you, you know?"_

 _"Yeah, I love you, too!"_

 _..._

 _"Gary, do you want me to do anything to help?"_

 _I watched as Gary flip through a research book, trying to finish up his report for Professor Oak. The professor wanted the report done by the end of the day, but Gary had only had it half finished so he was rushing to complete it now._

 _"Just..."_

 _I waited for him to finish the sentence, rocking back on my heel of my feet. Usually Gary would just tell me to hang around, not minding that I was hanging around while he worked. Sometimes like now when it was urgent, I would do my best in helping in anyway I could._

 _"Just... leave me alone, Leaf. I'll get this done by myself."_

 _"Oh." I slowly nodded and stepped back. "Good luck with your report."_

 _Giving me a nod of acknowledgement, I retreated out of the room and gave him a small wave. He didn't even look up._

 _..._

 _"Did you forget something?"_

 _My eyes widened, as I looked over at my calendar. Gary and I had planned a date today, but I completely forgot._

 _"Oh, sorry, Gary!" I exclaimed, grabbing my jacket. "I'll be right there!"_

 _"Alright..." he said through the phone. "Be careful. I'll see you soon."_

 _"Okay," I answered. "Bye."_

 _"Bye."_

 _..._

 _"How many times did I remind you?" I asked, crossing my arms. "Tonight was really important for me. I was hoping you would show up."_

 _"Something important came up," Gary retorted. "I couldn't get out of it, besides that meeting was important to me."_

 _I paced back and forth for a moment._

 _"I... I understand," I murmured, walking over to him. "Do you think you can make it next time?"_

 _"Sure. Next time."_

 _..._

 _(December 31st, evening)_

Lumiose City was getting ready to celebrate the new year, and I could feel the excitement of the crowd. Everyone was gathering around Prism Tower, and I was heading there too, hoping maybe some of the new year excitement would rub off onto me. Ever since leaving Gary a few days ago, I decided to enjoy my time in Lumiose City by doing some sightseeing. The city had turned out to be much bigger than I had anticipated, and still hadn't managed to see everything it had to offer yet.

As I approached the city's center, I could hear excitement and cheer already building up, seeing there was only ten minutes left until midnight. Deciding to stand near the lamp post that stood on directly across from Prism Tower, giving me a perfect view of everything that would happen. Pulling on a bitter smile, I looked around the busy city center and froze when I caught a familiar pair of eyes staring at me with an alarming look of relief.

Gary Oak.

I stood in front of him, directly across the street. Although we were staring at each other like there was no one else, I was very aware of everything that happened between us. Cars, bikes, people... Everything kept moving. It was then the lights changed and he ran over to me.

"Thirteen steps," he said, looking straight into my eyes.

He stood only a few steps away, hands hesitant but reaching out for me. I took step back, staying out of his grasp. I was hesitant about giving up everything we had for past two years, if he was here now, so was he. Neither of us wanted to give up yet, but I didn't know whether or not I was ready to forgive him.

"What do you mean?" I asked, looking at him. "What are you doing here, Gary?"

"I needed to see you," he explained, running a hand through his brown hair. "I want to apologize for what happened that day, and every other time I upset you. I'm sorry. I hope we can go back to how it use to be."

I crossed my arms, not sure whether or not to forgive him. There were only a few minutes until the new year would arrive.

"It took us thirteen steps to get to where are," Gary said slowly. "The first step, we were strangers."

Giving him a confused look, he continued his explanation.

"Second step, friends. Step three, we fell in love. Step four, we started dating. Step five, we had our moments together. Step six, we got comfortable around each other. Step seven, we started to take each other fore granted. Step eight, we started arguing. Step nine, we were falling apart."

As he went through his steps, all the memories flashed by me, making me realize all that we had gone through. Gary was able to recognize it all his thirteen steps, someone who noticed it all was really touching.

"What's step ten?" I asked, voice barely above a whisper.

"Regret," he answered. "I regret letting you walk away like that. I should have stopped you the moment you stepped out the door."

"I regret leaving you now too," I murmured, leaning in towards his touch. Wrapped in his embrace, I could feel the familiar warmth I missed. "I'm sorry."

"Step eleven, apologies," Gary responded. "I'm sorry, too."

After a moment, he continued his steps.

"Step twelve, second chances. Are you willing to take that step?"

I looked up at him, eyes wavering with tears as I nodded.

"I will if you will."

Leaning back slightly, Gary nodded. Smiling, we both leaned in sharing a kiss just as the fireworks for the new year went off in the background. Cheers erupted and filled the air. A new year for new chances, new hope. I was looking forward to spending another one with Gary.

As we broke apart from the kiss, I paused thinking back about when Gary was approaching me.

"Wait," I said, "it only took you twelve steps to get to me from across the street. I counted."

"Thirteen is moving onto our future," he clarified. "I think we're on that step now."

And that was how our relationship was made up, in thirteen steps. After two years of being together, it took us a research trip to Kalos to make up realize how important we were to each other. Although it was a tough road we walked through together, I wouldn't change it any way, because every step led to us now.

* * *

Ah... this was really badly written. I was trying to go through the things a couple may encounter. Happy ending at least. :)

I hope you guys liked it though.

Thanks for reading and have a wonderful day!

~Skitty13


End file.
